KNOM Radio Missionhttp://www.knom.org/wp
96.1 FM | 780 AM | Yours for Western AlaskaTue, 03 Mar 2015 23:00:29 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Taps Nome for Arctic Port Expansionhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/13/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-taps-nome-for-arctic-port-expansion/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/13/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-taps-nome-for-arctic-port-expansion/#commentsSat, 14 Feb 2015 02:18:15 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=14460The Corps plans a 2,100-foot extension of Nome’s causeway, the building of a new 450-foot dock, and expanding the port down to a depth of 28 feet.]]>

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is set to unveil its first steps toward expanding deep-water Arctic ports in Alaska, and Corps officials said Friday they plan to start by expanding the existing Port of Nome.

“The report is making the recommendation for Nome, for construction at Nome at this time, basically due to its highly developed area, having a good runway, good hospital, already strong support that’s already there,” said Bruce Sexauer, the Alaska Army Corps’ chief of civil works.

Being first pick for a deep-water port—a pick Sexauer stressed is still provisional until public comment and other evaluations are complete—includes the Corps’ plan for a 2,100-foot extension of Nome’s causeway, the building of a new 450-foot dock, and dredging the port down to a depth of 28 feet.

Nome’s causeway currently has two docks, measuring about 200 feet each, and the harbor now goes to a depth of 22 feet. A middle dock project set to start construction this coming summer would add a third 200-foot dock.

The Corps eventually hopes to develop a system of deeper ports throughout western Alaska. That includes the natural deep water of Port Clarence near Brevig Mission and Teller, but residents of those communities near the western tip of the Seward Peninsula have opposed that plan. They’ve voiced concern over how a busy port would endanger seals, fish, and other subsistence resources.

“This port will be able to provide support for those types of activities that are going on out there,” he said. “This will provide [resource developers] with a closer area where they can bring in their resupply ships and offload crews closer up in the Arctic.” He said expanded port capacity would similarly increase the ability for agencies to respond to emergencies in Arctic waters.

The City of Nome has thrown its support behind the Corps’ plans. Port Commission Chair Jim West Jr. said, ideally, the port could be deepened to 35 feet, but said Friday that “any extension would help us tremendously.”

“The other side of the harbor … is already about 30 to 32 feet deep,” West said, noting that the shelf falls away rapidly further from shore. “I’m thinking 2,100 feet is going to get plenty deep for us,” he said.

The Corps’ plans to expand to a 28-foot depth would likely accommodate larger ships from maritime groups like the U.S. Coast Guard, West said, but would fall short of the biggest fuel tankers transiting Bering Sea waters.

“The bigger the boat we get in here, the better we’ll be,” he added.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be in Nome Tuesday, Feb. 17, to meet city and port officials. The Corps’ full report will be released to the public by the end of next week.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/02/13/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-taps-nome-for-arctic-port-expansion/feed/0Nome Airport to Close for One Hour Daily for Gold Co.’s Subsurface Blastinghttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/17/nomes-airport-to-close-for-one-hour-daily-for-gold-co-s-subsurface-blasting/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/17/nomes-airport-to-close-for-one-hour-daily-for-gold-co-s-subsurface-blasting/#commentsMon, 17 Nov 2014 20:49:52 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=12966The Alaska Dept. of Transportation will close Nome's airport between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, starting this week and through June 1.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/11/2014-11-17-DOT-Nome-Gold-Airport-closures.mp3

The state Department of Transportation is closing Nome’s airport for one hour a day on weekday mornings, in order for local mining company Nome Gold to conduct subsurface blasting on their property just to the west of the airport.

DOT spokesperson Meadow Bailey said the agency will close the airport between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, starting this week and through June 1.

“We’re working with [the Federal Aviation Administration] and with Nome Gold to make sure the operations that are happening adjacent to the airport property are safe and won’t impact property,” Bailey said.

While that one-hour window will start opening this week, Nome Gold Alaska Corp. general manager Randy Powelson says any blasting at the “Airport West” site along the east/west runway could be some days away, as crews are not yet on site.

A bird’s eye view of Nome’s airport. Nome Gold’s property is to the west of the east/west runway. Photo: Alaska Department of Transportation.

In September the gold company shipped up 800,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate in preparation for its winter mining operation. Powelson said the explosives, which are inert until mixed with diesel fuel and detonated with a blasting cap, will be placed at the bottom of 40-foot holes and used to break up the permafrost. The chunks of loosened earth and rock will then be loaded up into trucks and hauled to the company’s stockpile, to be fed through their wash plant in the spring.

Powelson said the subsurface blasting itself only takes seconds. DOT’s Bailey added the hour-long window remains open so crews can check the runway and ensure it’s safe for planes.

“My understanding is that the blasting window, the time that they actually need for conducting their activity is relatively small,” Bailey said. “We’ve made that hour window just so that we can … sweep the runway and just make sure that there doesn’t happen to be any debris on the runway, which we don’t expect most days that there will be.”

Powelson with Nome Gold said the company will perform checks before any of the underground explosives are prepped, and again before any are detonated, to ensure the airport, the runway, and any other impacted areas are clear of pedestrians, vehicles, and aircraft. He added that the project is designed for minimal exposure to noise and vibration. “We don’t think there’s going to be a lot of noise,” Powelson said. “We don’t want to do anything that would endanger any aircraft or people on the ground.”

DOT’s Bailey said any blasting plans can be called off in the case of emergencies. “If there was a medevac … any operations will stop, and we’ll make a sweep of the runway and make sure and accommodate any kind of emergency during that 6 to 7 a.m. window.”

Bailey said pilots and airlines are being notified of any changes to the one-hour closure through NOTAMS, short for “notices to airmen,” from the Federal Aviation Administration.

On the ground in Nome, Fire Chief Jim West Jr. says the fire department is aware of Nome Gold’s blasting plans. However, as of Friday, the mayor and other city officials said they did not know of any planned blasting from Nome Gold or of any airport closures from DOT.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/17/nomes-airport-to-close-for-one-hour-daily-for-gold-co-s-subsurface-blasting/feed/2Budgets, Lighting, and a New Fire Chief at City Councilhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/14/budgets-lighting-and-a-new-fire-chief-at-city-council/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/14/budgets-lighting-and-a-new-fire-chief-at-city-council/#commentsWed, 15 Oct 2014 00:45:05 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=12352Budgets and other fiscal business were the topic of conversation at Monday night’s Nome City Council meeting, with special emphasis on finding a solution to the lack of lighting on Nome’s Snake River Bridge.]]>

Budgets and other fiscal business were the topic of conversation at Monday night’s Nome City Council meeting, with special emphasis on finding a solution to the lack of lighting on Nome’s Snake River Bridge.

The state Department of Transportation has $2 million to add lights to the new bridge, but City Council members say the state’s unhurried pace would leave a lighting solution months if not years away. The council is now directing the city utility to install temporary lighting of its own on both sides of the bridge.

“If we can do it in-house, and we’ll be happy for temporary [lighting] as opposed to spending DOT money, that seems like a good way to approach it,” council member Matt Culley said.

That would free up the state’s $2 million—and DOT designers—to fold the permanent lighting fix into the larger project of realigning Center Creek Road, commonly called the “jail road.”

In other business, the council approved some budgetary bookkeeping, bringing its balance sheet in line with official revenue numbers. Overall the city took in $11.1 million, down from last year’s $11.3 million in revenue. The drop in revenue came as city expenses grew by about $94,000 over the same time period.

On recommendation from the utility board, the council voted to accept $8 million in loans from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation for water and sewer upgrades throughout town.

Congressional Representative Don Young stopped by the city council meeting to talk deep water arctic ports and other federal projects. Rep. Young stressed the role earmarks in Washington play in those projects.

“Most small areas in this state have been ignored because, quite frankly, you don’t have the horsepower,” Young said, referring to the tendency for state funding to head to urban areas. “We have federal dollars involved. The congressman, the Senators, have a right to designate those dollars into smaller communities. Because that is where it should be going.”

Closing out the meeting, the council approved a new head for the fire department: Jim West Jr. was on hand to accept the role as chief of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department. With 31 years of experience, West was recommended unanimously by Nome firefighters to serve as the department’s new chief.